foxwoods resort casino

Foxwoods Resort Casino is a hotel-casino in Mashantucket, Connecticut. Foxwoods is currently the largest resort casino in the world, with 4.7 million square feet (440,000 m²) of space and Foxwoods is set to undergo another expansion beginning in the summer of 2005. The casino has over 350 gaming tables including blackjack, craps, roulette, and poker. There are almost 6500 slot machines there as well as a bingo room, keno, several restaurants, and 1416 hotel rooms as well as a new two story arcade for children and teens. There is also the BB King Nightclub for entertainment. http://www.foxwoods.com/Home/PressCenter/PressInformation/.

History

Foxwoods was founded in 1986 as a bingo hall by the Mashantucket Pequot Nation of Native Americans. In 1992 the Pequots added table games, followed shortly by slot machines in 1993. The casino agreed to pay 25% of their slot revenue to the state of Connecticut, a sum that now amounts to almost $200 million each year http://www.dosr.state.ct.us/PDFFolder/Fosltweb.pdf.

Gaming

Blackjack

Blackjack at Foxwoods is played with 6 or 8-deck shoes. Some tables shuffle manually and some tables use a continuous shuffling machine. The rules are similar to Las Vegas: The dealer hits until soft 17, late surrender, double down on any card, split to 4 hands http://www.customstrategycards.com/rules_misc.htm. Some players may be discouraged by the table minimums: On weekends, the minimum bet at blackjack tables is likely $25.

Craps

Foxwoods is one of a growing number of casinos offering 3-4-5 times odds. On points of 6 or 8, players are allowed to make an odds bet equal to 5 times their pass/don't pass bet. Points of 5 or 9 allow a 4 times odds bet, and points of 4 or 10 allow a 3 times odds bet. A side effect of this rule is if the player takes the maximum odds (it's in your best interest) the odds payout is always 6 times the pass line bet. Table minimums are usually $5 to $10.

Roulette

Slots

Slot machines at Foxwoods payout roughly 91% of the money that is bet. In the fiscal year ending June 2003, Foxwoods' slots handled over $9.5 billion.

Poker room

Foxwoods deals several poker games including Limit Texas hold 'em, No-Limit Texas Hold 'Em, Omaha hold 'em (High and High/Low), and Seven-card stud. There are also weekly poker tournaments and World Poker Tour events. The poker room currently has 56 tables.